Search - Jimmy Ruffin :: Sings Top Ten

Jimmy Ruffin's Spectacular Debut Album!!

T. A. Shepherd | Palmdale, Ca. 93550 | 02/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hot on the heals of his two recent hits, "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" and "I've Passed This Way Before", this album is jam packed with top notch songs. Two previous singles are included. The reflective "Since I've Lost You" from July 1964 and Smokey Robinson composition "As Long As There Is L-O-V-E Love" from October 1965 are two of Motown's should-have-been-hits. Broken Hearted b-side, "Baby I've Got It" wasn't included for some reason, but "Tomorrow's Tears" would have served as an A-sided single just fine. It has the same melancholia as Broken Hearted, but was unfortuately stuck on the B-side of "I've Passed This Way Before". Three covers are found here; Los Bravos' Motown-flavored "Black is Black" and two seminal releases on Epic from Tony Orlando--"Halfway to Paradise" and "Bless You" in 1961. Ruffin's vocal on "Black" is a bit over-the-top, but the Soul Brothers' Band gives it the drive that The Bravos could only come close to. 1967."